Service Updates & Upcoming Public Holidays – w/c 22nd June

Here you will find the latest global service updates and a list of upcoming worldwide public holidays. This is updated throughout the week with latest information available.

Service Updates

GENERAL: Following the earthquake in Nepal, Delhi International Airport is currently being used as a transit zone for the large amounts of humanitarian aid being sent to region. Due to this, disruption is expected to flight schedules and flight paths for planes landing or transiting this airport.

Australia – Australia Post have stated that very heavy rainfall and wind has resulted in flooding and damage to roadways and property in Queensland. This is making the delivery of mail unsafe for Australia Post staff in the 4xxx postcode area. Delays and backlogs are also being experienced due to roads being closed/flooded. Australia Post are putting contingency measures into place but delays should be expected.

UPDATE: As of the 6th May, the severe weather conditions in Queensland have subsided and normal mail operations have resumed in most of Queensland. However, expect a 2-3 day delay on deliveries whilst backlogs are cleared. Resolved (issue start date: 01/05/15 – updated 08/05/15)

Australia – Australia Post have informed us that staff of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Services will be taking industrial action each day from Monday, 15 June 2015 until further notice. This action will range from go-slows to full walk-outs. Delays should be expected. Ongoing (issue start date: 15/06/15)

Chile – We have been informed by the Chilean Post Office that workers in Chile’s national customs service have called for an indefinite strike, which began on Wednesday 20th May. This will cause delays to the processing of incoming mail.

UPDATE: The strike by workers in Chile’s national customs service has ended (as of 1st June) and therefore the suspension of all mail services has now been lifted. Mail that has been on hold in Chile will now be released from customs but significant delays are to expected due to the backlog. Delays of up to a week are expected. Resolved (issue start date: 20/05/15 – updated 01/06/15)

China – High volumes of mail arriving in Shanghai and Guangzhou are resulting in backlogs and capacity issues for China Post. Delays to mail services are likely. Ongoing (issue start date: 03/11/14)

Germany – Throughout May, the workers union Ver.di was involved in both warning strikes and full strike action. Negotiations were held on may 20th and 21st but unfortunately Ver.di has now announced further strike action. At this stage. these include a warning strike in the national letter and parcel delivery network, mostly in the northern parts of Germany (zip-code region 2-3) and the region Koblenz/Trier (zip code area 54 and 56). Meetings are scheduled to be held on 26th May to discuss strike action in the North Rhine-Westphalia region (zip-code region 4-5). In addition to this, a warning strike at the OE IPZ Frankfurt (Priority Mail & Parcels) is planned for Tuesday 26th and Wednesday, 27th May, 08:00-19:00 for the inbound shift. Additional action at Frankfurt for priority mail and at Niederaula for non- priority mail may occur until 22:00 on Friday 29th May. Delays to the processing and delivery of mail and parcels to the affected areas is therefore to be expected.

UPDATE: We have received further communication from Deutsche Post that the German worker’s union Ver.di will be carrying out further strike action. The latest action commenced on Monday 8th June and affects all 82 mail sorting centres. As of the 25th June, action is still ongoing and has now expanded due to the union DPVKom joining the strike. There are now approx. 32,000 postal workers on strike in Germany. Significant delays are to be expected. Ongoing (issue start date: 01/05/15 – updated 25/06/15)

Nepal – An earthquake, approximately 50 miles north west of Kathmandu, has caused severe damage in northern Nepal. Severe disruption to mail services is expected.

UPDATE: All mail services in Nepal have been officially suspended and Kathmandu Airport is now closed to all commercial cargo due to the humanitarian relief effort in the region. Ongoing (issue start date: 27/04/15 – updated 30/04/15)

Spain – The Spanish post office (Correos ES) has reported that trade unions have called for a partial strike in Correos’ Madrid facilities (Madrid 28000 – 28999) for Thursday 30th April. This includes Madrid OE, sorting centre (Madrid CTA), delivery units and postal offices and is scheduled to run for 4 hours. As consequence all inbound and outbound processes could be severely affected during this time, not only services from/to Madrid area, and could cause serious delays and backlog during 1st May (national holiday), 2nd May (regional holiday in Madrid) and 3rd May.

UPDATE: Further strike action has taken place intermittently throughout May. Although the last strike was on the 15th May and the subsequent backlog cleared, there is a possiblity of further strike action. We will advise accordingly as and when any action is announced. Ongoing(issue start date: 30/04/15 – updated 26/05/15)

Spain – Spanish air traffic controllers have called for a partial strike over four days in June. The dates are June 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th and during this period there will be severe disruption to mail services sent by air.

UPDATE: We have been informed that whilst the strike by air traffic controllers has now finished, there are slight delays of 24-48 hours in mail delivery until backlogs are cleared. Resolved (issue start date: 01/06/15 – updated 22/06/15)